Contact printing apparatus



May 9, 1961 A. BARIL, JR., ETAL 2,983,210

CONTACT PRINTING APPARATUS Filed April 12, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN s H ALBERT BARIL,

IRVIN H. DeBARBIERlS ATTORNEYQ May 9, 1961 A. BARIL, JR., ET AL CONTACT PRINTING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 12, 1954 1 2 S i 3 Ma E E ft m m LR mm 5 Mm B D 11L Tl mUH J m V d m MR \k 6 k w R W 2 0 .l e w m w% s m m F 1%: 1U fi 4,

8 Ma 2 M B l Po 7 5 r 3 4 8 wlm 2 E 7 b 2 O 5 5 5 0 t 2 w m m. J 777 f7 M ft M M mu T g 1p m m E ATTORNEYS y 9, 1961 A. BARIL, JR., ETAL 2,983,210

CONTACT PRINTING APPARATUS Filed April 12, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig.3

v C N INVENTORS IgLBERT BARIL JR. I

g 5 IN H. DeBARBIERIS ATTORNEYS 2,983,210 CONTACT PRINTING APPARATUS Albert Baril, Jr., and Irvin H. De Barbieris, New Orleans,

La., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Kalvar Corporation, New Orleans, La., a corporation of Louisiana Filed Apr. 12, 1954, Ser. No. 422,372 3 Claims. (Cl. 95-77.5)

This invention relates to a contact printing apparatus of the type capable of reproducing from a negative or master copy a positive print or other reproduction and its principal object is to provide a simple, efiicient and reliable apparatus for automatically exposing for the required time super-imposed positive and negative elements and sequentially separating and ejecting the negative and developing the positive and finally ejecting it, all in a matter of a few seconds.

Further objects relate to various features of construction and will be apparent from a consideration of the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, with parts in section, showing the essential separating mechanism of a contact printmg apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an index card or holder carrying the negative or master copy;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of an index card or holder carrying the positive element or print; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective of the separator or deflector member, showing the manner in which the cards are separated after exposure.

The particular embodiment herein shown for the purpose of illustration is designed to reproduce from a negative or master copy, such as a microfilm negative carried by an index card, a positive print which is carried by a card having an ofiset peripheral portion, the process employed being the so-called diazo type or the like which requires an exposure of the superimposed negative and positive elements, followed by an exposure of the positive to a predetermined degree of heat so as to develop the image. Such a process is described in Baril et al. Patent 2,911,299, issued November 3, .1959, to which reference may be had for a more complete disclosure.

Referring to Figs.,1 and 2, the apparatus comprises a box-like structure 1 having front, side and rear walls 2, 3, 4, 5 and an interior partition 6 extending vertically from the top to the bottom wall so as to divide the interior into two compartments 8 and 10. The front wall 2 is formed with vertically aligned openings or windows 11 and 12 the utility of which is hereinafter pointed out.

Mounted within the lower part of compartment 8 is an exposure drum 14 comprising a transparent or light permeable cylindrical shell 15 carried by spaced annular members. 16 of 'generally' Z-shaped cross-section. A plurality of smaller rollers 18, mounted on studs 20carrled by. the wall 3 and partitionfi, engage theinner peripheries ofthe annular members16 so as to support the drum for rotation about ahorizontal axis.

Mounted in the uppeppart of the compartment 8 is a developer drum 22 comprising a cylindrical shell 24 of metal or other suitable heat=conducting material, the inner ends of which are recessed to receive supporting rolls 25 mounted on studs '26 carried by the wall 3 and partition 6, the "rolls 25 being arranged to support drum 22 for rotation about an axis parallelto that of drum l4.

.. .Disp'os'ed'abo'ut the drum14 are. four belt-guiding 1191163130, 31, 32'and 33, each' haying shafts rotatably United States Patent 0 ice mounted in bushings carried by the wall 3 and partition 6; and in like manner four belt-guiding rollers 35, 36, 37 and 38 are disposed about the drum 22. The inner ends of the shafts of rollers 33 and 35 extend through the partition 6 into compartment 10 and carry gears 40 and 41 which are interconnected by an idler gear 42 so as to rotate in the same direction. The bushings supporting the rollers 31 and 37 are mounted in transverse slots 45 and 46, and are connected with adjusting screws 47 and 48 which provide take-ups for the conveyor belts.

Although but a single conveyor belt may be used it is found preferable to employ a conveyor belt for each drum and to this enda belt 50 extends about rollers 30-33 and the inner half of the drum 14; and likewise a second conveyor belt 52 extends about rollers 3538 and the inner half of drum 22.

Between the drums 14 and 22 is a transfer conveyor which comprises a pair of vertically spaced rollers 54 and 55, each mounted on shafts rotatable in bushings carried by Wall 3 and partition 6. The inner end of the shaft of roller 54 extends through the partition 6 into compartment 10 and carries a gear 56 (Fig. 1). A conveyor belt 58 extends about the rollers 54 and 55, and the construction and arrangement of parts are such that the belt 58 contacts the belts 50 and 52 as they travel about rollers 33 and 35, respectively, thus cooperating with these belts in transferring a card carrying an exposed print from the drum 14 to the drum 22, as hereinafter more fully explained. In order to insure proper tensioning of the belt 58 a take-up roll 60 is mounted in adjustable bearings 62 so as to engage the outer run of the belt, as shown in Fig. l.

Mounted in the space between the peripheries of drum 14 and rollers 33 and 35 is a separator member 64 (Figs. 1 and 5) consisting of an elongate piece of sheet metal, one edge portion of which is bent upwardly to form a projecting part or lug 65 which intercepts the negative print while permitting the duplicate to pass over the guiding edge 66. The intercepted negative is guided downward by the lug 65 and passes along the underside of this edge. The opposite longitudinal edge 68 is bent downwardly so as to deflect this card toward the surface of drum 14. The inner end of the separator is bent upwardly to provide a bracket 70 by means of whichthe separator may be rigidly secured to the partition 6.

A horizontally disposed card-receiving shelf 72 (Fig. l) is supported by partition 6 so that its outer end overhangs the lower edge of window 11 and its downwardly curved inner end terminates above the roller 30; and likewise a similar shelf 74 is associated with the drum 22 and window 12 so that the card carrying the positive print drops downwardly thereon where it may be readily removed.

Mounted within the lower part of compartment 10 is a socket 76 (Fig. 2) which holds an ultra-violet light lamp 78 projecting through a shielded opening in partition 6 into the interior of the drum 14, it being understood that the socket is electrically connected toa voltage supply and a starter, in the conventional manner; A blower 77 (Fig. 2), controlledby a separate switch, supplies cooling air through an opening in the lamp housing, exhaust being through the opposite open end of the drum. Between the. ultra-violet lamp 78 and that section of the inner periphery of the shell 15 facingthe window 11 is a shield 80 fastened to the partition 6 which prevents radiations from passing outwardly, thus obviating the possibility of subjectinga positive to premature exposure,

while simultaneously acting as a reflector increasing the radiation intensity on the surface where exposure'takes place.

Mounted'at the upper'part of the'par'tition 6 is a heat-i mg coil 81 (Fig. l) which extends into the interior et- 15 and the negative.

3 the drum 22 so as to heat the shell 24 by radiation, it being understood that the coil 81 is electrically connected in a circuit having conventional controls including the thermostat 82 extending the length of the drum by means of which the temperature of the drum may be adjusted to attain the desired developing temperature.

Adjustably mounted on a bracket $4 within compartment It is a motor 85 having reducing gears with the drive shaft connected to a flexible coupling 38 which in turn is connected to the shaft of roller 33. Between the gear 44) and coupling 88 is a gear 9t (Fig. 2) meshing with gear 56 carried by the shaft of roller 54, the design of gears iii-42 and 96 being such that all ten rollers are driven at the same peripheral speed. The motor 86 is connected in an electric circuit having conventional controls by which the speed of the rollers may be varied to attain desired periods of exposure.

With the construction and arrangement thus described the rollers 33, 35 and 4 are positively driven by motor 86. and these rollers drive co'nveyor'belts 5i), and 58 which in turn drive the other rollers as well as the drums 14 and 22. Since the peripheral speed of all roliers and both drums are the same, the travel of the print-carrying cards is uniform from the entrance to the exit, and by varying the speed of motor 86 the rate of travel and hence the period of exposure may be varied.

-As above noted, the particular apparatus herein shown is designed to reproduce positive prints from a microfilm negative and, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the negative microfilm print N is conveniently mounted on ithe marginal portions of a window or opening formed in a conventional index card C which may carry identifying indicia and other data; and likewise the positive print P is similarly mounted on an index card C. In order to insure separation of the cards after exposure, one of them is formed with a peripheral portion offset with respect to the other thereby to provide a salient portion or projection enga'geable by the lug 65, as hereinafter more fully explained and completely described and claimed per se in our Patent 2,731,263. To this end the corner of card C may becut off, as indicated at 95 '(Fig. 5), so that the corresponding corner of card C provides, in efiect, the

ofiset or peripheral projection engageable with the lug 6S.

A summaryof the operation of the apparatus is as follows: a

Assuming that; the motor 86, blower 77, lamp 78, and

heating element .81'have been turned on, that the motor print P registers with the negative N, and while thusheld the cards are inserted through window 11 so that their leading edges enter the bite of the drum 14 and belt 50. Thedrum and belt carry the cards in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow, thus exposing the positiveprint P to the ultra-violet light passing through the shell As the leading edge of the cards emerge from the nip of the drumjand belt, the lug 65 engages the uncut corner of the mac deflecting it down-; wardly while the cut-off corner of card C clears the ing 65 and advances into the bite of belts'iii and 58 as illustnatedinFigS...

.--The card'C'is' deflected"downwardly'along'the outer the negative N, developed and discharged in a matter of a few seconds, usually of the order of one half minute or less. By repeating the process as many positive prints or reproductions may be secured as is desired. 7

While we have shown and described one desirable embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes and modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim: 7

1. Apparatus for copying comprising a source of radiations of a type to which copying material is sensitive for exposure to said copying material and an original to,be

copied as a plyed combination to thereby record a latent image upon the copying material in accordance with the original to be copied, developing means for said exposed copying material mounted in vertically spaced relation to said source of radiations, first engaging means transparent to said radiations for spacing the plyed combination a predetermined distance from said radiations source for exposure thereby, first belt means for receiving the plyed combination and passing the same into engagement with said first engaging means, means mounting said first belt means for movement in an endless path including a portion trained over said first engaging means, said first belt means mounting means including a first roller mounted in vertically spaced relation to said first engaging means over which said first belt means is trained, means adjacent the leading end of the portion of said first belt means trained over said first engaging means and adjacent said first roller forengaging the plyed combination after the same has been moved between said first engaging means and said first belt means portion and for separating the copying material from the original, second engaging means for spacing the exposed copying material a predetermined distance from said developing means for developmentthereby, second belt means for receiving the exposed copying material and passing the same into engagement withsaid second engagingvmeans, means mounting said second belt means for movement in an endless path including a portion trained over said second engaging means, said second belt means mounting thence between said second engaging means and thetrail ing end of the portion of said second, belt means trained about said second engaging means, and means mounting.

said third belt means' for movement in an endless path includinga .pair of vertically spaced rollers'over which V portions of said first and'second belt means trained over a speed substantially equal to the peripheral speed of the face ofdruin 14 and when its trailing end is free from the belt 50, it drops intoshelfi72 from. which it' is removed. Meanwhile the card C is carried upwardly by the upper card into the bite of belt 52 anddrum 22. V The card C then travels'about the drum 22 which heats the exposed printP to a temperature suflicient todevelop the latent V image and asthecard emerges from the nip of the belt 52-and drum 22 it drops down onto shelf 74 from which itisremoved. J e 1 1 In manner the is exposed, separated said first and second rollers.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein p and second engaging means each comprises a'j drpm' mounted for rotation about its own axis at a peripheral associated beltmeans. V r

3. Apparatus as defined in wherein said d evelopment' means consists splely .of ,a source of heat.

.. References lilited in thejfil eof this patent UNITED srAT s PATENTS 

